HUMAN TRAFFICKING

LAWS
GOVERNING RA 9208- "Anti-Trafficking in
Persons Act of 2003".
TRAFFICKIN
G IN
PERSONS RA 10364-  "Expanded Anti-
(PHILIPPINE Trafficking in Persons Act of
2012″.
BASED)
According to UNODC
• Article 3, paragraph (a) of the 
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines
Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or
other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse
of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of
payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control
over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall
include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or
other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or
practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs
According to US DOJ
• Human Trafficking is a crime that involves exploiting a person for
labor, services, or commercial sex.

• a) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force,

fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such
act has not attained 18 years of age; or
• b) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining
of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or
coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude,
peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. (22 U.S.C. § 7102(9)).
According to RA 9208
• Trafficking in Persons - refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer or
harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victim's consent or knowledge,
within or across national borders by means of threat or use of force, or other forms
of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking
advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments
or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person
for the purpose of exploitation which includes at a minimum, the exploitation or
the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or
services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs.
• The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the
purpose of exploitation shall also be considered as "trafficking in persons" even if it
does not involve any of the means set forth in the preceding paragraph.
ELEMENTS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
ACTS OF TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS(RA9208)
• (a) To recruit, transport, transfer; harbor, provide, or receive a person
by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or
overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose
of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery,
involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
• (b) To introduce or match for money, profit, or material, economic or
other consideration, any person or, as provided for under Republic Act
No. 6955, any Filipino woman to a foreign national, for marriage for
the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling or trading him/her
to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced
labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
• (c) To offer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the
purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling, or trading
them to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual
exploitation, forced labor or slavery, involuntary servitude or
debt bondage;
• (d) To undertake or organize tours and travel plans consisting
of tourism packages or activities for the purpose of utilizing
and offering persons for prostitution, pornography or sexual
exploitation;
• (e) To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or
pornography;
• (f) To adopt or facilitate the adoption of persons for the
purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual
exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude
or debt bondage;
• (g) To recruit, hire, adopt, transport or abduct a person,
by means of threat or use of force, fraud, deceit,
violence, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of
removal or sale of organs of said person; and
• (h) To recruit, transport or adopt a child to engage in
armed activities in the Philippines or abroad.
Acts that Promote Trafficking in Persons
• (a) To knowingly lease or sublease, use or allow to be used
any house, building or establishment for the purpose of
promoting trafficking in persons;
• (b) To produce, print and issue or distribute unissued,
tampered or fake counseling certificates, registration
stickers and certificates of any government agency which
issues these certificates and stickers as proof of
compliance with government regulatory and pre-
departure requirements for the purpose of promoting
trafficking in persons;
• (c) To advertise, publish, print, broadcast or distribute, or
cause the advertisement, publication, printing, broadcasting
or distribution by any means, including the use of
information technology and the internet, of any brochure,
flyer, or any propaganda material that promotes trafficking in
persons;
• (d) To assist in the conduct of misrepresentation or fraud for
purposes of facilitating the acquisition of clearances and
necessary exit documents from government agencies that
are mandated to provide pre-departure registration and
services for departing persons for the purpose of promoting
trafficking in persons;
• e) To facilitate, assist or help in the exit and entry of persons
from/to the country at international and local airports,
territorial boundaries and seaports who are in possession of
unissued, tampered or fraudulent travel documents for the
purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
• (f) To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the passport, travel
documents, or personal documents or belongings of trafficked
persons in furtherance of trafficking or to prevent them from
leaving the country or seeking redress from the government or
appropriate agencies; and
• (g) To knowingly benefit from, financial or otherwise, or make
use of, the labor or services of a person held to a condition of
involuntary servitude, forced labor, or slavery.
TYPES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
(INTERPOL)
• Trafficking for forced labor
- Victims of this widespread form of trafficking come
primarily from developing countries. They are recruited
and trafficked using deception and coercion and find
themselves held in conditions of slavery in a variety of
jobs.
- Victims can be engaged in agricultural, mining,
fisheries or construction work, along with domestic
servitude and other labor-intensive jobs.
• Trafficking for forced criminal activities
- This form of trafficking allows criminal networks to reap the profits
of a variety of illicit activities without the risk. Victims are forced to
carry out a range of illegal activities, which in turn generate income.

- These can include theft, drug cultivation, selling counterfeit goods,

or forced begging. Victims often have quotas and can face severe
punishment if they do not perform adequately.
• Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation
- Women and children from developing countries, and from
vulnerable parts of society in developed countries, are lured by
promises of decent employment into leaving their homes and travelling
to what they consider will be a better life.

- Victims are often provided with false travel documents and an

organized network is used to transport them to the destination country,
where they find themselves forced into sexual exploitation and held in
inhumane conditions and constant terror.
• Trafficking for the removal of organs
- In many countries, waiting lists for transplants are very long, and
criminals have seized this opportunity to exploit the desperation of
patients and potential donors. The health of victims, even their lives, is at
risk as operations may be carried out in clandestine conditions with no
medical follow-up.

- An ageing population and increased incidence of diabetes in many

developed countries is likely to increase the requirement for organ
transplants and make this crime even more lucrative.

-Organ harvesting involves trafficking of a person to use their internal

organs for transplant. Kidneys are in high demand due to the high
number of patients on transplant waiting lists.
https://www.acamstoday.org/organ-trafficking-the-unseen-form-of-human-trafficking/
https://www.acamstoday.org/organ-trafficking-the-unseen-form-of-human-trafficking/
• TRAFFICKING FOR FORCED MARRIAGE
- This is when a person is put under pressure to marry someone. They may be
threatened with physical or sexual violence or placed under emotional or
psychological distress to achieve these aims.
- Situations where you may find forced marriage used:
-To gain access into a country
- To gain access to benefits

• CHILD SOLDIERS
- These are children and young people, ranging from as young as four up to 18,
who are used for any military purpose. It affects both males and females.
- Children may be used for frontline combat – which means they are made to
commit acts of violence – or within auxiliary roles, such as informants or kitchen
hands. Often, the children are also sexually abused.
- This type of practice is most prevalent in parts of Africa and Asia.
 INTER-AGENCY
COUNCIL AGAINST
TRAFFICKING (IACAT)
• The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) was established as
the central coordinating body that monitors and oversees the strict
implementation of this Expanded Act. It is mandated, among others, to
develop comprehensive and integrated programs to prevent and
suppress trafficking in persons, establish the necessary institutional
mechanism for the protection and support of trafficked persons, and
ensure the timely, coordinated, and effective response to cases of
trafficking in persons particularly in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking persons cases. IACAT also has the power to create anti-
trafficking task forces to ensure that agencies, in a timely and
coordinated manner, immediately and effectively respond to cases of
trafficking in persons, assist in filing of cases against individuals,
agencies, institutions, or establishments that violate the provisions of
the Expanded Act, and protect the rights and needs of trafficked persons.
• Presently, IACAT has a total of 24 task forces, which include 2 national
task forces, 6 port-based task forces, and 16 regional task forces.
IACAT POWERS AND FUNCTIONS
• a) Formulate a comprehensive and integrated program to prevent
and suppress the trafficking in persons;

• (b) Promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary for the

effective implementation of this Act;

• (c) Monitor and oversee the strict implementation of this Act;

• (d) Coordinate the programs and projects of the various member

agencies to effectively address the issues and problems attendant
to trafficking in persons;
• (e) Coordinate the conduct of massive information dissemination and
campaign on the existence of the law and the various issues and
problems attendant to trafficking through the LGUs, concerned
agencies, and NGOs;

• (f) Direct other agencies to immediately respond to the problems

brought to their attention and report to the Council on action taken;

• (g) Assist in filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions or

establishments that violate the provisions of this Act;

• (h) Formulate a program for the reintegration of trafficked persons in

cooperation with DOLE, DSWD, Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Higher Education
(CHED), LGUs and NGOs
• i) Secure from any department, bureau, office, agency, or
instrumentality of the government or from NGOs and other
civic organizations such assistance as may be needed to
effectively implement this Act;
• (j) Complement the shared government information system
for migration established under Republic Act No. 8042,
otherwise known as the “Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipinos Act of 1995” with data on cases of trafficking in
persons, and ensure that the proper agencies conduct a
continuing research and study on the patterns and scheme of
trafficking in persons which shall form the basis for policy
formulation and program direction;
• (k) Develop the mechanism to ensure the timely,
coordinated, and effective response to cases of
trafficking in persons;
• (l) Recommend measures to enhance cooperative efforts
and mutual assistance among foreign countries through
bilateral and/or multilateral arrangements to prevent
and suppress international trafficking in persons;
• (m) Coordinate with the Department of Transportation
and Communications (DOTC), Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI), and other NGOs in monitoring the
promotion of advertisement of trafficking in the internet;
• (n) Adopt measures and policies to protect the rights
and needs of trafficked persons who are foreign
nationals in the Philippines;

• (o) Initiate training programs in identifying and providing

the necessary intervention or assistance to trafficked
persons; and

• (p) Exercise all the powers and perform such other

functions necessary to attain the purposes and
objectives of this Act.
Referral System Involving TIP Cases
REPORT OF TRAFFICKING BY IACAT
NUMBER OF CONVICTIONS IN PHILIPPINES
STATISTICS OF TRAFFICKING
• Globally, it is estimated that there are 20.9 million human trafficking victims. Of those, 68%
are in forced labor, 55% are female, and 26% are children (Polaris, 2018).

• In 2017, there were 4,460 cases of human trafficking in the United States and U.S.
Territories reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Victims of human trafficking
come from diverse socioeconomic, education, and cultural backgrounds. Victims may be
found in suburban or rural locations, in all age groups, and all genders, including
transgender persons. However, there are some risk factors which may make individuals
more vulnerable to becoming victims of human trafficking. These factors include runaways
and homeless youths, foreign nationals (either documented or undocumented), individuals
with a past history of violence, trauma, discrimination, neglect, or abuse; or other social,
personal, and environmental factors (National Center on Safe Supportive Learning
Environments, 2018; National Human Trafficking Hotline, n.d.).
• The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims
of human trafficking globally.
• 81% of them are trapped in forced labor.
• 25% of them are children.
• 75% are women and girls. (https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/facts)
• The International Labor Organization estimates that forced labor and human
trafficking is a $150 billion industry worldwide.
• The U.S. Department of Labor has identified 148 goods from 75 countries made by
forced and child labor.
• In 2017, an estimated 1 out of 7 endangered runaways reported to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex trafficking victims.
• Of those, 88% were in the care of social services or foster care when they ran.
• There is no official estimate of the total number of human trafficking victims in the
U.S. Polaris estimates that the total number of victims nationally reaches into the
hundreds of thousands when estimates of both adults and minors and sex trafficking
and labor trafficking are aggregated. (
https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/facts)
CAUSES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
• POVERTY, WAR, NATURAL DISASTERS AND A SEARCH FOR A BETTER
LIFE.
• Traffickers look for people who are susceptible to coercion into the
human trafficking industry. Those people tend to be migrants, fleeing
their homes either because of economic hardship, natural disasters,
conflict or political instability. The displacement of populations
increases individuals’ emotional vulnerability, and frequently they do
not have the financial support to protect themselves. This makes
them subject to abuse through trafficking.
• WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE TARGETS.
• In some societies, the devaluation of women and children make them far more
vulnerable to trafficking than men. Traditional attitudes and practices, early marriage
and lack of birth registration further increase the susceptibility of women and children.
They are also targeted because of the demand for women in sex trafficking. A report by
Equality Now states that 20.9 million adults and children are bought and sold
worldwide into commercial sexual servitude, forced labor and bonded labor. Women
and girls make up 98 percent of the victims trafficked for sexual exploitation

• DEMAND FOR CHEAP LABOR.

• The service industry, particularly restaurants and kitchens, are common exploiters of
human trafficking. There is also a demand for cheap domestic and agricultural labor.
Employees are often initially promised a safe work space and a steady salary, only to
later find that they are paid less than minimum wage and worked over time. Business
owners guilty of this behavior continue to practice these illegal norms because the
victims of trafficking can rarely protect themselves and they have very few alternatives.
• HUMAN TRAFFICKING GENERATES A HUGE PROFIT.
• According to the ILO, the human trafficking industry generates a profit of $150
billion per year. Two-thirds is made from commercial sexual exploitation, while the
remainder comes from forced economic exploitation such as domestic work and
agriculture. Human trafficking is the fastest-growing and second-largest criminal
industry in the world, after drug trafficking.

• CASES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING ARE DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY.

• Some challenges in identifying victims of human trafficking arise because victims
are well-hidden or highly traumatized. Those that are traumatized are unlikely to
divulge information to investigators, either because they are scared to confront law
enforcement, or because they are too troubled to respond. Consumers of human
trafficking also contribute to the crime’s hidden nature, according to a report by the
Urban Institute. Both traffickers and consumers are aware of the huge risk they take
by participating in this illegal behavior and will do their best to cover up any illicit
activity(https://borgenproject.org/5-causes-of-human-trafficking/)
CAUSES OF TRAFFICKING
(PHILIPPINES)
• Unemployment
• Poverty
• Absence of a social safety
• Political instability
• Status of violence against women & children
• The low risk, high-profit
Involvement of Persons
• Throughout the entire human trafficking process there are 4 people
involved:
• The recruiter
• The trafficker
• The victim
• The human trafficking industry
FACTS ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
• Trafficking involves transporting someone into a situation of
exploitation. This can include forced labor, marriage, prostitution, and
organ removal. This kind of exploitation is known by a few different
names -- “human trafficking,” “trafficking of persons,” and “modern
slavery” are the ones accepted by the US Department of State. 

• It’s estimated that internationally there are between 20 million and

40 million people in modern slavery today.
• Estimates suggest that, internationally, only about .04% survivors of
human trafficking cases are identified, meaning that the vast majority
of cases of human trafficking go undetected

• Human trafficking earns global profits of roughly $150 billion a year

for traffickers, $99 billion of which comes from commercial sexual
exploitation

• Globally, an estimated 71% of enslaved people are women and girls,

while men and boys account for 29%
• Estimates suggest that about 50,000 people are trafficked into the US
each year, most often from Mexico and the Philippines. 

• In 2018, over half (51.6%) of the criminal human trafficking cases

active in the US were sex trafficking cases involving only children

• Reports indicate that a large number of child sex trafficking survivors

in the US were at one time in the foster care system.

• The average age a teen enters the sex trade in the US is 12 to 14 years
old. Many victims are runaway girls who were sexually abused as
children.
• In UNODC's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, sexual
exploitation was noted as by far the most commonly identified form
of human trafficking (79%) followed by forced labour (18%). This may
be the result of statistical bias. By and large, the exploitation of
women tends to be visible, in city centres or along highways. Because
it is more frequently reported, sexual exploitation has become the
most documented type of trafficking, in aggregate statistics. In
comparison, other forms of exploitation are under-reported: forced or
bonded labour; domestic servitude and forced marriage; organ
removal; and the exploitation of children in begging, the sex trade and
warfare.
ROLE OF INTERPOL IN HUMAN
TRAFFICKING
• Exploitation in different forms
- At INTERPOL, we work to ensure police are trained and equipped to
identify and investigate cases of human trafficking in all its forms, including:
-For forced labour or domestic servitude;
- For sexual exploitation;
- For forced criminal activities, such as begging, pickpocketing or online
crime;
- For the removal of organs.
• Protecting children
-Minors are particularly vulnerable to trafficking, as they are more
easily manipulated and often don’t realize they are the victims of crime.
Some may feel they are being protected by their so-called employers,
particularly if they are given meals and accommodations.
- INTERPOL recognizes the crucial role played by child protection
units, social services and NGOs in our member countries. We regularly
engage and involve them in our activities to ensure children are given
the proper attention and care throughout investigations and
operations.
INTERPOL's response to human trafficking
• We strive to empower police in our member countries to investigate and handle
cases of human trafficking. This is done via:
-Training: building long-term capacity by sharing the latest investigation and
victim interview techniques with officers;
- INTERPOL’s policing capabilities and expertise: tools and systems for sharing
intelligence globally;
- Global operations: concrete action in the field to disrupt and dismantle human
trafficking networks;
- Partnerships: working across sectors to improve the ways in which trafficking
can be identified, reported and investigated;
- Events and conferences: gathering experts from across the world;
- Specialist groups which focus on frontline police work and the exchange of
operational information;
- Resources: covering general information, international legislation, and law
enforcement guides and manuals.
 SMUGGLING

Smuggling flourishes wherever

there are high-revenue duties (e.g.,
conveyance of things by stealth,
on tea, spirits, and silks in 18th-
particularly the clandestine
century England, coffee in many
movement of goods to evade
European countries, and tobacco
customs duties or import or export
almost everywhere) or prohibitions
restrictions.
on importation (narcotics) or on
exportation (arms and currency).
CLASSIFICATION OF SMUGGLING
• Outright smuggling ("opened barriers")
- In such cases, the imported goods are not registered at all with the
customs and other institutions. In the large majority of cases of
outright smuggling, criminal complicity of public servants at the border
is involved.
• Abuse of the "time" factor
- Corrupt customs officials often abuse the fact that time frame for
accomplishment of customs service is not prescribed in order to extract
bribes. For example, by deliberately delaying the customs clearance for
perishable goods, the owner is forced to pay a bribe in order to speed up
the process. Alternatively, a bribe may be given by a third person in order
to hold the goods until they get spoiled. Thus the bribe-giver eliminates
the market competitor. The reverse case can be witnessed when a
particular importer is given advantage before its competitors by speeding
up the process of customs clearance or by getting the clearance after the
end of the working day. Then, the importer’s expenses are reduced
(expenses for storage, those related to contracts for timely delivery of
goods, etc.) and the customs officer turns to his benefit the importer’s
economic interest as a precondition for extracting a bribe.
• Falsification of the documents accompanying goods
– A significant part of violations is linked to the origin of the goods and to
taking advantage of certain preferences, related to this origin. Practice proved
that cases in which false certificates of origin were submitted to and accepted by
the customs are abundant. Despite the fact that in many of these cases it was
possible to disclose the violation during the customs procedure, this did not take
place. Often customs officials themselves instruct the violators which false
documents should be presented and how they should be falsified. In such cases,
the violator pays a bribe to the customs official for accepting the false document
as genuine one. Bribes are not given only inside the customs service, but are paid
also to experts in laboratories where untrue expert opinions are produced, to the
administrative employees in Ministries and departments for issuing certificates
containing false information, and to notaries legalizing apparently false
documents.
– A consequence of customs violations resulting from the use of incorrect
tariff number and description of goods is that lower or no taxes and fees are paid.
• Violations involving customs regimes
- In some cases, customs officials allow the abuse of the customs
regime, which enables the importer to avoid payment (temporary or
for a longer period of time) of due customs duties and taxes, for
instance, by unjustifiably using preferences and customs concessions. In
some cases, fictive destruction of goods, following a fictive confiscation
or abandonment is employed. In this case, the violator makes an
agreement with the commission in charge of destruction, which
prepares a false document, testifying about the destruction of the
goods although such has not occurred.
• Substitution of documents accompanying goods
- Such substitution usually occurs between the dispatching customs office in
the country of export and the receiving customs office in Bulgaria and represents
another form of criminal cooperation between customs violators and customs
officials. Substitution of genuine documents with false ones allows for declaration
of smaller quantity of goods or for declaration of goods with lower customs rate,
which leads to payment of lower custom duties. Documents can be substituted by
the importers themselves without the involvement of customs officials. Yet, this
sharply increases the risk of disclosure of the violation. That is why violators prefer
to make an arrangement with customs officials, especially in cases of permanently
active schemes over a prolonged period of time. In such cases, the customs official
knows that the documents have been substituted with the false ones and
consciously assists in the violation. The official inspects only the side rows of
goods in the transport vehicle and notes in the protocol that the declared
corresponds to what has been physically examined. The central part of the vehicle,
where the offensive goods are located, is intentionally not inspected.
• Violations involving customs decrees in free zones
- These include violation of the decrees prohibiting or limiting the
presence of certain types of goods on the territory of the zones; illegal
transfer of the goods from the territory of the zone and their import
into the country; retail trade with the goods, located in the free zones
or in customs warehouses; violations occurring during the re-exporting
operations, etc.

• Violations connected to the destruction of goods

- They involve fictive or partial destruction of goods, which benefits
the importer or other persons, including customs and other officials;
these cases also involve destruction of goods, which could be used by
the state, etc.
• Sale of the goods in advance
- There are numerous cases of criminal cooperation between
customs officials and managers of various companies involving the
advanced sale of goods, imported without customs clearance. In such
cases, the importer sells the goods before paying the appropriate
customs duties and other taxes and in this way receives an illegal credit.
After the goods are sold, the importer pays the whole or a part of the
duties and taxes to be paid.
 Using the body

Using the baggage

METHOD
OF Using the mail
SMUGGLIN Using the freight cargo
G
Undeclared articles

Using container shipment

 Pure Smuggling– an act whereby an article
sought to be imported or exported without
going through customhouse whether the act
is consummated, frustrated or attempted.
Kind of
Smuggling Technical Smuggling– an act whereby an
article is sought to be imported or exported
through any other practice or device contrary
to law by means of which such articles were
entered through the customhouse to the
prejudice of the government.
 1.Attempted

Three Stages 2.Frustrated

of Smuggling

3.Consummated
 1. Large scale smuggling– when acts
contrary to law to customs law involve
the importation of goods or contraband
Two forms of with a determinable value of at least
5,000,000 pesos.
smuggling
under E.O 2.Smuggling Committed by a Syndicate–
smuggling by a syndicate shall be
2971. deemed to be committed when carried
out by a group with one another in
carrying out the unlawful act of
smuggling
TYPES OF SMUGGLING OCCURING IN
THE PHILIPPINES

1 2 3 4 5 6
RICE CIGARETTE HUMAN GADGET CAR ARMS
SMUGGLING SMUGGLING SMUGGLING SMUGGLING SMUGGLING SMUGGLING